1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a microfluidic device having a chamber with a discharge configuration to discharge all fluid accommodated in the chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lab-on-a chip refers to a device in which microfluidic structures are arranged in a chip-shaped substrate to implement multiple steps of processing and operations, in order to implement tests including biochemical reactions on a small chip.
Transferring a fluid in microfluidic structures may require a drive pressure, such as capillary pressure or pressure produced by a separate pump. Recently, disc-type microfluidic devices, in which microfluidic structures are arranged on a disc-shaped platform to enable centrifugal movement of fluid, have been suggested to implement a series of operations. Such a disc-type microfluidic device is called a lab compact disc (CD), lab-on a disc or digital bio disc (DBD), discriminately with a lab-on-a chip.
Examples of microfluidic structures include chambers to confine a fluid therein, channels to provide fluid flow, and valves to control flow of a fluid. A microfluidic device may be constructed by various combinations of microfluidic structures.
When a microfluidic device is used to test a sample, test results may be sensitive to the amount of a fluid to be tested. Thus, if the amount of a fluid used in a test differs from a preset amount required for testing, this may cause erroneous test results.
As such, when centrifugal force is used on a microfluidic device, a fluid accommodated in a chamber of the device may discharged from the chamber by the centrifugal force. In particular, if the fluid accommodated in the chamber has been metered to a preset amount for a subsequent process, it may be necessary to discharge all the fluid in the chamber.